Brent rising to $ 50 a barrel and Saudi Arabia .. restrict price increases in light of the "battle" of market shares

7/6/2016

Reuters / London-Riyadh-Moscow

Brent crude prices rose to $ 50 a barrel on Monday, after being boosted by a drop in the US dollar may lead to stimulate demand, while continuing attacks on oil infrastructure in Nigeria, which led to a lack of supply.

The price of futures contracts for Brent International to $ 50.03 a barrel at 0139 GMT, up 39 cents, or 0.8 percent from the last adjustment for him.

The price of futures contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude 49 cents or one percent to $ 49.11 a barrel.

Traders said rising oil prices was the result of a sharp fall in the dollar on Friday when the US currency fell 1.5 percent against a basket of other major currencies during trading today.

This drop came after the publication of weak US jobs on led to raise concerns about the world's largest economy and the development of data but is seen falling dollar that supports the increasing demand in the rest of the world because it makes the oil that is dealt them a cheaper dollar and the like.

Traders said repeated attacks on oil infrastructure in Nigeria also supported oil prices.

The attacks have already led to a decline in the production of Nigeria to the lowest level in more than 20 years.

For its part, industry sources said Saudi Arabia is the largest oil exporter in the world lifted most types of crude exported to Asia that the prices, but kept her at the minimum expectations in order to maintain their competitiveness in the market share battle.

This increase came after Aramco offered Saudi oil giant last month sell more crude oil to customers in Asia, a move seen at the time as evidence that the largest oil exporter in the world does not intend to reduce its production where wrestle market share with big producers others.

She said a trader with a refiner in North Asia, "Saudi Arabia raised the official selling price of less than expected."

She said Saudi Aramco, last Sunday, it had raised in July \ July the price of crude Arabian Light for shipments destined to Asian buyers by $ 0.35 a barrel to be determined at a premium price of 0.60 dollars above the average Oman and Dubai crude, while lowered the official selling price for shipments in July \ July of Arab light crude flying price to the north-west Europe 0.35 dollars a barrel to a discount of $ 4.80 a barrel for Brent weighted average.

In May \ May last Arabia Middle East newspaper quoted Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco as saying that the company plans to raise production Shaybah field of oil to one million barrels per day in the first half of June \ June.

Saudi Arabia has kept the official price of Arab Light crude to high-quality for July \ July unchanged versus expectations was referring to the possibility of lifting between 10 cents to 50 cents.

And most of this is exported crude, which is relatively higher in yield to Asia.

Japan buys more than half of Arabian light crude oil production of high quality with the exception of the increase in production Shaybah field and imports averaged 411 thousand barrels per day in the first four months of this year.

Another trader said that this will help the Arab light crude high quality to compete with the light produced by a species Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) started.

In turn, Lukoil's second-largest Russian oil producer, said net profit in the first quarter fell by 59 percent to 42.8 billion rubles (651.3 million dollars) due to falling oil prices.

The results were below analysts' expectations.
Brent crude oil prices fell to the lowest level in 13 years to a record $ 27 a barrel in January \ January due to oversupply. Since then, prices have recovered to around $ 50 a barrel.

Lukoil said in a statement on Monday: "Our results for the first quarter of 2016 affected by lower average oil prices and fluctuations in the ruble's exchange rate against the dollar and the euro."

The statement added, "In contrast, instead of lower taxes on mineral extraction and export duties aside from those effects."

The company's sales fell to 1.2 trillion rubles from 1.4 trillion rubles in the first quarter of last year, which is consistent with expectations, while revenue fell before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization 32 percent calculated to 145.5 billion rubles, compared with $ unexpectedly reached 170.4 billion rubles.